Thursday, January 8th, 2009, filed in Athlete's Corner, Coach's Corner
Tonight I was at the Ravenscroft vs. Word of God high school basketball game at WOG’s home gym. I arrived early (around 4:30pm for the 7pm game) because I was expecting the gym to be packed…and it was. After the JV game, the varsity girls game got underway, and the gym was about completely full around 5:45. Ravenscroft girls beat Word of God 56-52, and the lights actually went off during the game (due to the storm we had tonight) for about 10 minutes, causing a brief delay.
The gym was completely packed for the Word of God vs. Ravenscroft varsity boys game. If you’ve never been to Word of God’s gym, these two words pretty much sum it up–small and loud. Everyone wanted to see Ravenscroft’s Ryan Kelly (Duke recruit), and Word of God’s talented team, led by the #1 player in the country, John Wall (undecided) and junior CJ Leslie (NC State recruit). There were even a couple of camera guys from ESPN. Here’s how the game unfolded:
First Half
Word of God’s CJ Leslie scored first to start the game, and I believe he had the team’s first 8 points. John Wall was relatively quiet, and Ryan Kelly had a nice running hook off the glass towards the end of the quarter. At the end of the first, the score was 15-12 Word of God.
In the second quarter, the score stayed close. Kelly had a nice step back three midway through the quarter and then Wall followed with a drive and dish to Dezmine Wells. The highlight of the game came with about three minutes left in the half. John Wall got the ball on the break on the right side of the floor and took off from two feet for a monster two-handed dunk. I saw it coming and started yelling before it actually happened. Word of God led the rest of the quarter until a three-pointer/buzzer beater by Ravenscroft ( I think it was PG Hampton Story) made it 31-31 at halftime.
Second Half
In the third quarter, both teams fought hard to gain control of the game. Wall hit a three with about 4:58 to go and then Kelly had a nice putback dunk for Ravenscroft. A sweet turnaround jumper from Bishop Daniels made it 38-37 Word of God, but Ravenscroft battled back to take the lead, 46-43, at the end of the quarter.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Ravens. Word of God looked a little confused on offense (they couldn’t solve Ravenscroft’s zone defense and weren’t able to get out and run as much as they’d like). They also weren’t doing a good job of boxing out, allowing Ravenscroft to get a few easy points after offensive rebounds. Ryan Kelly also hit some nice shots, and Ravenscroft ended up winning 68-59. One player I really enjoyed watching (I like watching everyone), who isn’t that well-known yet was Ravenscroft’s freshman guard, Madison Jones. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on him in the future.
Here’s some video from the first minute of the game:
Check back tomorrow (Thursday) morning for some pictures from the game and maybe another video or two.
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